Event Details

Please join us Tuesday, August 23rd, for the next installment of DocuClub LA with a screening of Skid Row Marathon by filmmakers Mark and Gabi Hayes, and editor Tchavdar Georgiev. DocuClub works-in-progress screenings have a long and storied history in NYC, and we're excited to share it with our Los Angeles members.

Skid Row Marathonfollows a criminal court judge who starts a running club on L.A.’s notorious skid row. The club's members, comprised of homeless drug addicts, a recovering single mom and a murderer, consider themselves among those least likely to succeed. As they train together to run marathons, they learn to dream big as they are re-acquainted with their own dignity.

DocuClub works-in-progress screening series is a regular event which offers the public and members of the film community advance access to new documentaries in progress, and the opportunity to participate in intimate feedback conversations with filmmakers and creators.

Doors open at 6:30 pm. Screening, followed by a moderated feedback discussion with the filmmakers - 7:00pm - 10:00pm. Drinks will be available for a modest suggested donation. Space is very limited so please update your RSVP if you can't make it so we can have a real count of the attendees. Admission not guaranteed, all RSVP's are first-come, first-served.

THE FILM

Skid Row Marathon is a feature length documentary that follows Judge Craig Mitchell and his running club as they prepare for a variety of running events including the Accra International Marathon in Ghana, Africa, the LA Marathon and the upcoming Rome Marathon in March 2015. Many of the club members have been living on the streets or in homeless shelters. They've lost everything - their homes, their jobs, their families and relationships. As they run with the Judge, they battle their demons and attempt to regain their self-esteem and self-sufficiency. Not everyone succeeds.This is the story of how one man can make a difference. It's the story of how talented individuals succumb to addiction and wind up homeless and how these same individuals, when given a second chance, find their way back to becoming productive members of society, eager to give back to their communities.

Mark Hayes, Director & Gabi Hayes, Producer

Mark picked up Gabriele hitchhiking in the former East Germany in 1985 and they were married. Since Gabriele was not permitted to travel, Mark moved behind the Iron Curtain to be with his “Communist” wife. After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, they moved to Dallas, Texas where Mark taught screenwriting at Southern Methodist University and Gabriele taught German and Russian at a local college.

Over the years, they have produced several documentary pieces about the Berlin Wall and the Cold War for KERA public televsion in Texas, and for German television.

Their recent work includes One Germany, The Other Side of the Wall (Ziegler Film, 2011) examines the differences that still exist in German society, twenty years after reunification and features rock musicians, dissidents, comedians, and politicians. From Red State to Golden State (2013) made possible through a Cal Humanities grant, tells the story of Soviet Jews who emigrated to Los Angeles from the Soviet Union and was featured as part of the Jews in the LA Mosaic exhibit at the Autry National Center of the American West.

Mark and Gabriele have been working on Skid Row Marathon since the beginning of 2013. Gabriele loves to run and still runs with the running club even though the project is in post-production. Mark does not enjoy running but runs anyway because he likes the interesting people he meets on Skid Row.

Tchavdar Georgiev, Editor

An Emmy nominated producer, director and editor. Together with Amanda Pope, he wrote, produced, and directed “The Desert of Forbidden Art.” showcased on PBS Independent Lens. Described by LA Times’ Kenneth Turan as a “remarkable documentary,” it was nominated for two Emmys, won the Cine Golden Eagle Jury Award and other international prizes. Georgiev directed and edited together with Dana Berry for National Geographic “Finding the Next Earth” and edited “Alien Earths,” nominated for a Prime Time Emmy. He recently edited the two times Emmy-nominated HBO documentary “Valentine Road” as well as Netflix’s “Finders Keepers”, both of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He was one of the editors on the documentaries "We Live in Public" (Grand Jury Prize at Sundance) and "One Lucky Elephant" (Best Doc Editing Award at Woodstock Film Festival) as well as the narrative feature "Bastards" (MTV Russia Best Film Award). He has produced for PBS, History Channel, National Geographic, Amazon Studios, USA Networks and MTV .

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM (PDT)

Organizer

Founded in 1982, the International Documentary Association (IDA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Our major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmmaker Services, Education, and Public Programs and Events.